Archive

Explore 5 strategic focus areas for 2025, including DIY investing, workplace pension awareness, targeted support, vulnerable customers, and understanding fair value. Get insights into the digital wealth landscape and upcoming trends that will shape the industry this year.

Data from the Boring Money website supports the FCA report, showing that younger investors under 40 make quicker decisions when opening stocks and shares ISAs compared to older investors.

Vanguard UK announces a new minimum annual charge for DIY investors, excluding managed ISA, pension products, and Junior ISA holders. This move shifts the focus toward their Managed ISA offering, with reduced fees making it more appealing.

The FCA has released a consultation paper proposing targeted support for pensions, a move welcomed by Boring Money CEO Holly Mackay. With 12.2 million people currently stuck in the Advice Gap, new research suggests that targeted support could help lift 5.3 million individuals out of this gap.

New research from Schroders and Boring Money highlights the prevalence of vulnerability among financial advisory clients. Financial, mental health, and emotional vulnerabilities are the primary concerns. Experts discuss the implications for client satisfaction, adviser retention, and industry challenges.

We award Best Buy and Best For Awards based on a rigorous five-point methodology, assessing costs and charges, testing of customer service response times, reviews of the key features providers offer to customers, reviews from real customers, and our own analysis based on our test accounts.

Speakers at Boring Money’s Consumer Duty conference in London highlighted vulnerable customers as one of the main focus areas for firms in the coming months, as they rise to the ongoing challenges of Consumer Duty.

Research from Boring Money’s Advice Report 2024 shows the Gap has increased as there are more investors than before. Reported confidence amongst investors has fallen marginally, thus increasing the need for support and help.

In a broader regulatory shake-up of the sustainable investment sector, anti-greenwashing rules come into force on 31 May and are applicable to all FCA authorised firms. We have been tracking consumer sentiment in this space for over 4 years and can see that consumers’ scepticism about exaggerated claims remains an important deterrent to growth in the sector.

Boring Money is lined up to host its next online insight session. Join us at 9am on Wednesday May 15 for a dedicated webinar on the findings from our upcoming Sustainable Investing Report.

Inflation has eased to its lowest level in nearly two and a half years, but investors remain pessimistic. Boring Money insights have shown a stagnant sentiment about both UK and global economics from UK consumers. Holly Mackay comments below.

Boring Money has collaborated with global Fintech leader Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: BR) to provide a single source of data and insights for asset managers that combines product analysis with consumer perspective to holistically address the requirements of the UK’s Consumer Duty regulation.

Is your brand in the running for one of our annual investment awards? Will you stand before the UK consumer as an exemplar of product, value, service and clear communications?

The role will be split across our B2C and B2B arms, functioning as a cornerstone of core marketing activity. You will join a team that keenly balances strong visual design and skilled written comprehension.

We hosted our End of Year Insight Session - a consultative, data backed recap of the various developments and market dynamics that governed 2023. Watch the session here.

On Wednesday 6th December 2023 at 9am we’ve hosted a round-up of 2023. What’s been going on in the world of wealth, investments and advice, then took a sneak peek at what’s coming up in 2024.

It’s all “go” out there in Proposition Land with SJP’s pricing review providing the first major and very public demonstrable change which has Consumer Duty at its core.

If you are covering retail finance and advice, consumer duty and assessment of value, please see comment below from Holly Mackay, CEO of Boring Money on SJP’s announcement to scrap exit fees.

As the cost of living crisis and ongoing lack of consumer confidence combine to hold back pension growth, consolidation remains a key opportunity for many firms. Learn more.

We're looking for a Senior Research Executive (Quantitative) to join our research team.

We are looking for a Research Manager with qualitative research experience, and experience in and/or a genuine interest in financial services research.

More under 45s are likely to say they'll use a private/work pension to fund their retirement than a State Pension. This lack of faith in the 'system' providing is stark. Learn more.

Our new report has been built with data from 4000 UK adults. It will help you to size the market, understand your audience, corroborate assumptions and plan your 2024 activity with confidence.

On September 12, Boring Money Insights hosted Consumer Duty- The Sequel, a half day event that gathered industry speakers from asset managers, platforms and advice firms for a dedicated Consumer Duty focused conference.

We look forward to welcoming you on Tuesday September 12th, where we are hosting leaders from across the industry at our half-day conference in London, to review how we did with the first Consumer Duty deadline, where to from here and how this will shape the landscape moving forward.

We asked one of our speakers – Chris Woolard CBE, Financial Services Regulation Leader, EY EMEIA – for his views on where firms have struggled, what change he thinks we’ll see and how tough a line the FCA will take in following up with providers. Read more here.

As the Consumer Duty deadline looms Boring Money Insights founder Holly Mackay recaps the insights, data points and document testing helping firms get everything over the line.

New data from investment research and online publisher Boring Money shows that the average UK adult finds financial advisers less trustworthy than lawyers, police officers and priests. Read more here.

Our annual report tracking the demand for, and the supply of, financial advice will be published on 14th June. We’ll be launching the report at a detailed briefing event for clients in the City on 14 June at 8:30am.

Join us on 11th May at 9am as we share the findings of a recent research report by Boring Money. Our challenge was to help firms implement a framework to understand, and measure, the value of advice to support ongoing development and Consumer Duty requirements.

Press release summary: Latest research from Boring Money has revealed that PensionBee, Trading212, and Etoro rank highest in value for money scores by their customers. AJ Bell, Vanguard and Freetrade round out the top 5 respectively.

Press release summary: The DIY investment market ended 2022 at £345billion, a small increase of 3.8% for the quarter but closing the year 8% lower, as markets struggle and consumer confidence falls.

Boring Money Insights awards its annual Best Buys, honouring the industry’s leading providers for DIY investors. ​Now in their fifth year, the Boring Money Best Buy Awards are increasingly used by our growing audience – and the media - who seek our impartial perspective, our deep dives into technical information, and the voice of consumers to inform their choices. ​This article will reveal the Best Buy winners 2023.

We're looking for Senior Research Executive (Qualitative) to join our research team.

We're looking for a graduate research analyst to join our research team.

As we power into Christmas (and no we haven’t put on lights or started playing carols yet because it’s STILL ONLY NOVEMBER!! #grumpy) we have 3 baubles to put on your knowledge tree. One of which is an invite to our bumper Christmas quiz to anoint the DIY Investor Boffin of the Year.

With a slight nervousness about writing this the day before a Budget, which is not destined to be a Good News budget (#BritishUnderstatement), we’re pleased to share the bestseller lists across major platforms for October.

A new report published today by Boring Money finds that 34% of the UK’s 16.2 million investors are classified as vulnerable according to the FCA’s new Consumer Duty classification.

Join us on 8th December at 9am for the Boring Money's Bumper 2022 Sector Review and DIY Investor Quiz!

Today, the Boring Money team proudly present Visible! – a new service to help the millions of women who say they feel invisible and ignored when it comes to advice, investments and pensions.

New research from independent consumer money site Boring Money has revealed that women are missing out on a potential £599 BILLION - which is greater than the GDP of Switzerland - in what has been dubbed the Gender Investment Gap. The survey of 6,000 UK adults found that there are an estimated 6.4 million female investors compared to 9.7 million male investors, meaning 3.3 million less women hold investments or private pensions in the UK - the equivalent to three times the population of Birmingham. 

Boring Money has published the YTD (year to date) performance of 33 leading ‘ready-made’ investment portfolios, from 10 of the industry’s main providers of ‘ready-made’ portfolios or funds for consumers. These providers include popular options for DIY investors across a range of business models - platforms such as AJ Bell and Hargreaves Lansdown, robo advisers such as Moneybox, Nutmeg and Wealthify, and leading global multi-asset fund provider Vanguard.

Finance has leapt off the personal finance pages and into the mainstream (again) in 2022. It’s harder than ever to make the right decisions and people are looking for help.

According to new research from Boring Money, renewable energy is the most selected impact theme for both investors and savers who would consider ESG-focussed investments. With an eye to the future, big oil companies have tried to pitch themselves as those who will invest in renewable, but this message hasn’t been well received by the majority of investors. Simultaneously fund managers have to focus on persuading the average investor that engagement, not exclusion, is a sensible strategy.

One of the focusses of the recently released Consumer Duty Policy Statement is how investment firms look after and manage vulnerable customers. In further guidance, vulnerability is classified as those customers who need special consideration because of 1) health, 2) life events, 3) financial resilience and/or 4) capability (knowledge and confidence).

One of the focusses of the recently released Consumer Duty Policy Statement is how investment firms look after and manage vulnerable customers. In further guidance, vulnerability is classified as those customers who need special consideration because of 1) health, 2) life events, 3) financial resilience and/or 4) capability (knowledge and confidence).

Boring Money CEO Holly Mackay comments, “The 3rd Consumer Duty Outcome is Consumer Understanding. We know that the use of ‘simple English’ and no jargon is a key consideration for investors when choosing an investment product (51%), second only to a low annual cost (58%). The FCA say “we want consumers to be given the information they need, at the right time, and presented in a way they can understand.”

Net financial sentiment has fallen to -40, down from -17 in January 2022. 50% of people believe their personal financial situation is going to get worse, compared to just 10% who think it is going to improve.

New research from Boring Money’s Sustainable Investor Tracker shows which asset management firms are winning the battle for consumer brand buying intentions when it comes to sustainable funds.

New research from Boring Money shows clear customer preference for more flexible advice models to suit a broad range of needs and preferences.

There are 9 million adults with investments today who express low confidence in managing said investments, and 4 million adults with more than £10,000 or three months’ worth of salary exclusively in cash savings who are willing to invest.

The Strategic Relationships Manager will sit in our newly formed Commercial Team and is a B2B inside sales position with new business acquisition and account management responsibilities.

How much time are customers willing to spend on investing?

Join our ESG disclosures webinar to learn what investors want

Boring Money Analysis of the DIY investing market. Where will it go next?

Online Investing Report Boring Money. Mobile investing critical for DIY investing providers.

Press release: Boring Money Online Investing Report

Are you investors Old and Grumpy?

Disruptors in the DIY investing market register strong customer review scores

Retail fund Investors are planning to increase the amount they are investing

Read about the Boring Money Best Buys 2022

Our Best Buys Awards are based on reviews from real customers, as well as our analysis of costs and charges, testing of customer service response times, and review of the key features providers offer to customers.

Data from the Boring Money website supports the FCA report, showing that younger investors under 40 make quicker decisions when opening stocks and shares ISAs compared to older investors.